Proximity Alert
by akeel1701
Summary: Stardate 49174,The USS Avenger, on the trail of an experimental semi-autonomous weapon-probe on the loose, have traced it to Federation Station Deep Space Nine. There all hell breaks loose...
1. Introduction

Introduction  
  
This is a Star Trek story I wrote in 1993, in the days when I was a big fan of all things Trek and a member of a Star Trek FanClub called Starfleet Command - which had as its selling point the idea that it was organised along the same lines as Star Fleet Cmmand from the TV show, with units, positions and ranks. At the time of writing I held the rank of Captain, and the local unit in Glasgow was the USS Avenger.  
  
The story started life as an idea for a roleplaying scenario I was developing for the rest of the members - my crew - which is why some of the names are of real people who held those ranks and positions at the time I began to write the story in July 1993, except in cases where some had actually picked a non-human race and chosen an appropriate name such as Dr Qnayf, the Klingon CMO and Lt Searochd, the Vulcan science officer.  
  
This was intentional since the people on the USS Avenger in the story are essentially the same people who served with me in Starfleet Command the fan club as officers and crew of the USS Avenger, including people who have since left or resigned in the seven or so years that I was in command, like Woods or McMinn.  
  
Occasionally I have used fictional characters like Tovarishch, but my idea was to have a story about us – namely the people who were members of the fan club at the time. In any case I have tried to be faithful to the characters wherever possible.  
  
The Deep Space Nine connection came about because my original intention was to send this to Scotpress, a fan-based organisation which published Trek stories by fans for the fans. They have a stipulation that televised characters must appear in the story also, whether Classic, Next Generation or Deep Space Nine, and considering the fictional time period in our unit I felt that DS9 was the most appropriate.  
  
This story starts at around Stardate 49174, which would be equivalent to 4th season DS9.  
  
Of course, since I was writing this just prior to DS9 starting its run on BBC2, it does not feature any of the storylines which were so prevalent in 4th season, like the Jem Hadar, the impending Dominion war and Gamma Quadrant politics. It may be useful to think of it as an alternate universe (or is that stretching it a bit too far?)  
  
Some of the scenes may be unsuitable for younger readers.  
  
Live Long And Prosper  
  
Akeel Ahmad  
  
P.S. Of course, it goes without saying that all the stuff about Star Trek and Deep Space Nine, Starfleet Command, etc., is the property of Paramount Pictures Corporation, and they own all the rights to it - I'm just doing this story for fun and am not gaining anything from it ...yada, yada, yada! 


	2. The Station

Chapter One : The Station  
  
Ahmad stood on the bridge, gazing at the main viewer, watching and waiting for a report from the away team. He was very much aware of the tension on the bridge - it was almost tangible. Commander Neil Meechan, his First Officer, stood by him, his face a picture of anticipation.  
  
"Shouldn't we have heard from them now, Sir?"  
  
Captain Ahmad glanced at him. 'The away team beamed over to the Proxima One Research Station thirtyseven minutes ago they are overdue in reporting."  
"I guess Dr Qnayf's been kept busy with all the casualties, and hasn't had the chance to report."  
"She is a highly skilled healer and a very efficient organiser; and I saw the logic in letting her lead the away team."  
"Really? I heard that she threatened you with a physical examination, if you tried to stop her."  
"Indeed". Ahmad raised his eyebrow at Meechan. His First Officer was, however, correct. The Chief Medical Officer's bedside manner or lack of one was legendary aboard the USS Avenger.  
  
"Captain, we are being hailed".;  
  
"On screen"  
  
The image on screen changed to that of a small, young Klingon woman, her rounded features visible through an environmental suit.  
  
"Captain, half the people died instantly; the radiation burned out the nervous system, and rest have varying degrees of radiation burns. I've done as much as I can so far, it's a real mess down here. There are fiftysix survivors, the rest are either dead or otherwise unaccounted for, I'm beaming them directly to sickbay."  
  
"Make if fast, Doctor. Proxima One is going into orbital decay."  
  
"Acknowledged." Qnayf broke contact.  
Ahmad glanced up at Lieutenant Hessan. "Get me Blair at Proxima!"  
  
"Aye, Sir."  
  
Chief Engineer Nick Blair appeared on the screen, wearing a heavy rad suit his voice somewhat muffled.  
  
"Captain, me and the lads have gone over what's left of the generators and we cannae find the cause of the radiation leak or the meltdown but somehow I don't think it was a malfunction it's just a feeling I have. I'll report my findings when I get back."  
  
"Understood, Avenger out." Ahmad became pensive. What kind of radiation destroyed neural tissue yet left other tissue relatively unharmed? There seemed no logic behind that.  
  
"Captain, if it wasn't a malfunction; it had to be caused by something."  
  
Ahmad looked at the tall, greyeyed First Officer. "Yes, Neil, the question is what, or who? Best wait for Nick and the others to return with details before we speculate." He glanced at the screen again. "You have the bridge, Number One. I will be in my ready room, meditating." He walked over to the door, glancing at the main viewer as he did so.  
  
"How often does he meditate, Sir," Kevin Steele, the young ensign at Ops asked, looking at the door to the ready room,"  
  
"Five times a day. He says it helps him cope with the strain of command." Meechan replied, glancing over at him. "Although he's a Vulcan, he was raised on Earth, so he probably missed most of that minddiscipline stuff that they teach on Vulcan."  
  
"That's that last of the away teams on board now, Commander." Hessan said, looking down at his console.  
  
Ahmad stepped out of the ready room, and watched as the spacelab began its final fall to the barren rocky surface of Proxima Tanis Theta. Suddenly there was a bright flash of light and the Avenger was rocked by a shockwave.  
  
"Shields Up!" Ahmad yelled, "Helm, get us to a safe distance, now!"  
  
"Aye, Sir."  
  
"Right. Neil, conference, now!"  
-  
"So, what have we got?" Ahmad asked rhetorically, facing his senior officers. "Doctor Qnayf, please report your findings."  
  
Qnayf went over to the screen, which lit up at her approach. "The radiation which caused this neural damage was at unusual frequencies and phase energies, and was short lived; by the time we got there it had dropped to almost background levels. From what I saw of the casualties, living and dead, this radiation had a direct effect upon the central nervous system of an individual, rather like burning out the spinal cord and then the extremities, causing numbness and paralysis. This neural corrosion then spread up into the brain causing instant comas followed by a quick death. It is not a nice way to die. Many survivors will need extensive neural regeneration. There were at least thirty people unaccounted for."  
  
"What kind of radiation could do this?" Ahmad inquired, with a questioning glance at Andrew Dunipace, his Chief Science Officer.  
  
Dunipace shook his head, "No known radiation exists which attacks purely neural tissue. All living tissue should have been destroyed equally: muscle tissue, skin tissue but this seems to be very neat almost too neat."  
  
"There is only one other alternative in my reasoning," Ian Cairns spoke up. "A weapon it's the only thing that fits. Here we have a science research station, in a volume of space disputed by the Federation and the Cardassians. It's obvious that they've developed a new weapon and have been field testing it."  
  
Ahmad looked knowingly at his lank, darkhaired Security Chief. "I won't rule that out just yet, but I believe that it may be something that the Proxima Team were working on. I'd better get onto Starfleet Command about this. Dismissed." 


	3. Puzzles

Author's Note: _Searochd is actually pronounced 'Serok' but I wanted to give it a Gaelic spelling to emphasise the Scottishness of our unit compared with the rest of Starfleet Command._  
  
————————  
  
Chapter Two : Puzzles  
  
"Channel open, Captain."  
  
Ahmad sat back in his chair in the ready room, watching the face of Admiral Stewart McNair appear on screen.  
  
"You have something to tell me, Captain Ahmad?"  
  
"Affirmative, Admiral. Proxima One was destroyed – we managed to rescue fifty–six people, however we were unable to save the station."  
  
"Do you think it could have been caused deliberately?"  
  
"I am uncertain since I do not have all the facts. The casualties suffered extreme neural damage from a peculiar radiation with unknown phase patterns, which acted upon the central nervous system with almost surgical precision."  
  
"That seems to be a bit too neat. Its either a weapon or its something that the crew was working on. I'll get on to Tech Division about this. Maybe Admiral Hickenbotham has some inkling into this matter. I'll call you back when I have any more info."  
  
"Understood, Admiral. Ahmad out." The screen went blank.  
  
Curiouser and curiouser. Here was something big that not even Admiral McNair seemed to know much about or, more likely, knew something but was not saying.  
  
"Computer, list research abstracts pertaining to Research Station One Proxima Tanis Theta."  
  
"Working…fourteen research abstracts have been conducted at Research Station One Proxima Tanis Theta since Stardate 47723.4. Seven projects are still under classification, therefore information is not available. The remaining seven projects are as follows:  
  
"Collapsar Observation and Classification"  
  
"Eighth Generation Artificial Intelligence"  
  
"Gravo–Magnetic Portable Harness"  
  
"Long Range Transporter"  
  
"Mutatogenic Grain Enhancement"  
  
"Neuro–Psionic Computer Interface"  
  
"This completes the list of research abstracts at Research Station One Proxima Tanis Theta as of Stardate 49174.4"  
  
Fascinating, thought Ahmad. Many projects had no business being on a station way out here, things like Grain Enhancement, for instance. What could one possibly learn by growing super–wheat on a space station on the very edge of the Federation. It had to be a smoke screen!  
  
"Computer, call up the stats for the Proxima station."  
  
"Working…Regula Class Research Station. Diameter: two hundred metres, Length: two hundred fifteen metres. Total crew: one hundred fifty personnel. Total shuttlecraft: two. Weaponry: two missile weapon turrets with photon torpedo systems. In service by…"  
  
"Wait. Photorp turrets? On a Science Station?"  
  
"Affirmative."  
  
"Cancel stats." He went to the bridge and took his place in the centre seat.  
  
"Helm, place us back in standard orbit around Proxima Tanis Theta. Ops, run a sensor scan round the impact point." He looked at Neil. "An object that big couldnt break up completely, especially on an airless planetoid. There should be a few deck modules that survived intact."  
  
"Thats right, but whatre you hoping to find?"  
  
"A clue of some kind, amongst all that debris, in the memory logs perhaps." He stood up and walked over to the main viewer.  
  
"Captain, there seems to be an energy source at the impact point."  
  
"On screen, zoom in as far as you can!"  
  
The stars gave way to a barren vista of the airless relief of Proxima Tanis Theta. There, in the centre of the screen, lay the remains of the spacelab. It lay sprawled across a crater, with the upper conical section in the centre of the crater. The shuttle deck was a mangled twisted heap and the lab modules lay scattered about chaotically.  
  
"I'll set up an away team then, shall I?"  
  
"No, Neil, I want to go on this one."  
  
Neil looked at him, "Captain?"  
  
"This is big, very big."Ahmad tapped his com–badge. "Mr Cairns, Mr Searochd, suit up and meet me in Transporter Room Three, please." He headed for the turbolift. "You have the bridge, Number One." 


	4. Away Team

Chapter Three : Away Team  
  
_First Officers Log, Stardate 49174.5. The Avenger is in orbit around Proxima Tanis Theta, the location of what was Proxima One Research Station. Sickbay is full of the survivors of the station mishap, none of whom are in any state to talk yet. The Captain has led an away team to the barren surface of the planetoid searching the debris for some clues to the disaster._  
  
The ruins of the space station lay strewn across the landscape of the barren planetoid, the discarded remains of some childs forgotten toy. Ahmad and Searochd scanned the lab modules with tricorders, while Cairns investigated the remains of the command decks.  
  
"That explosion did not destroy the station completely." Ahmad commented, upon seeing the twisted remains of the various decks.  
  
"No, Sir, it looks as though only the generator portion of the station exploded, and the bulk of the station fell slowly under the planetoids weak gravitational pull, therefore most of the various deck modules would have survived the light impact." Searochd said, checking his tricorder.  
  
"Captain, Searochd," Cairns voice sounded rather ominous over the speaker.  
  
"What is it, Ian?"  
  
"I think you better get over here and see this, Sir."  
  
They made their way to where Cairns stood, and saw several deck modules, apparently intact; and a few were dimly lit.  
  
"There are life signs here, Sir," said Searochd, sounding as astonished as it was possible for a true Vulcan to be.  
  
"But that's imp…" Ahmad broke off as he saw Searochd fall to the ground, writhing and clutching his head, as if in agony. He became aware of a sensation of pressure at the base of his skull. "Transporter Room, beam us out of here, fast!"  
  
————————  
  
As they materialised on the transporter pad, Searochd hung limply, supported by Ahmad and Cairns.  
  
"Lets get him to sickbay."  
  
By the time they reached sickbay Searochd had regained consciousness, but Ahmad lifted him onto a vacant bed. Qnayf approached them brandishing her medical scanner.  
  
"What the hell happened to you, Searochd?"  
  
The young Vulcan lieutenant seemed rather uncertain, "Intense pain in my ears … as if caused by high frequency sound, and the same sort of sensation in my head."  
  
"First time?"  
  
"Yes, Doctor Qnayf"  
  
"Stay here, I want to keep you under observation. Going somewhere, Captain?", Qnayf demanded as Ahmad and Cairns turned to leave sickbay.  
  
"I am going to the bridge. I feel okay!"  
  
"Im fine too," retorted Cairns, "and Ive got a lot of work to do. I've got phasers to polish and grunts to shout at!"  
  
"Not until I've cleared you both," the tiny Klingon doctor said, stepping in front of them and gazing up at them. "What happened to Searochd could happen to you, and if you're on duty when it happens it could be nasty!" She headed over to one of the other patients in the crowded sickbay.  
  
"Not as nasty as staying here!" Cairns muttered under his breath. Ahmad almost smiled at his remark. He went towards Qnayf.  
  
"Doctor Qnayf, how are they?", he asked, indicating the station personnel.  
  
Qnayf shook her head slowly. "There doesn't seem to be anything I can do, many people will never regain consciousness, the neural damage is too severe. Vulcans and Betazoids died instantly, there are mainly humans here, along with two Andorians, but most of them are little more than vegetables."  
  
"This does not help. I need somebody who can talk, someone who could tell me what happened down there."  
  
"Not much chance of that here, Captain. For what its worth, there were no Klingons on the crew roster."  
  
————————  
  
"We have to send an away team down again, there may be records intact, and we may yet find an answer to this mystery, Neil."  
  
"I'll get some science personnel together, Sir. By the way, how is Searochd?"  
  
"Lieutenant Searochd seems fine now. I believe that what we suffered was some form of psychic attack – he has quite a high Psi Rating – even for a Vulcan. I felt a slight singe myself but not as bad as him. Thats probably why neither Cairns nor myself were affected as severely – we're not sensitive enough."  
  
"I'll get three science personnel and head down to the surface." Meechan headed for the turbolift, tapping his combadge as he did so. "Lieutenant Roberts, Lieutenant Tovarishch, Ensign Woods, meet me in Transporter Room Three, environmental suits required." He left the bridge.  
  
————————  
  
"Engineering transfer to Bridge", Nick said as he entered the bridge. "Look at this, Captain."  
  
Ahmad went over to the engineering console, and saw the diagram of the research station.  
  
"The only conclusion I can draw is a condition not unlike metal fatigue!"  
  
"Metal fatigue?"  
  
"See this?" Nick played the controls, and zoomed into the diagram. "Crystallisation formed in the structure of the metal – in this case tritanium; this can cause stress patterns to build up beyond the structural strength of the metal. Tritanium normally has varying crystal sizes to deter uniformity…"  
  
"…The heterogeneous structure conferring greater strength than uniform crystal structure."  
  
"Thats right, Sir, but this effect was not uniform throughout the generator decks, it originated on the central generator deck, around the cylinder, as if a beam was constantly focused upon it, while it rotated. This is where the crystallisation occurred, and this is where the weak spot formed, and when the tritanium gave way, the matter/antimatter reaction chamber began to leak, causing the explosion. That explosion itself was not powerful enough to destroy the station, but it ripped the shielding and the reaction caused it to fall from its orbit. There was no sign of physical or chemical agents among the debris, except for the unusual crystallisation of the metal."  
  
"So it wasn't an accident after all…this was caused by a hostile agent. Any idea where the beam could have came from? And what about the second explosion?"  
  
"Well, Sir. The second questions easy. That explosion was a result of partial containment field collapse. In this particular instance the matter and antimatter was somehow jettisoned and exploded some distant from the station itself. The actual decks and lab survived intact while the matter and antimatter annihilated itself at a safe distance. As for a beam, well…" he shrugged regretfully "Could be anywhere, Sir, I'd have to see this kind of thing happen somewhere else, to give me a line I could trace to the source. At the moment its narrowed to one two–dimensional plane, but its azimuth could be anywhere."  
  
"Thanks, Nick." Ahmad said, as he went back to his chair, "This puts matters in a whole new light.".  
  
————————  
  
The landing party beamed down to the co–ordinates and began their search. Meechan led the way through the scattered modules.  
  
"Woods, Tovarishch, check out the science lab modules on Deck 13, or whats left of them. Roberts, you're with me!"  
  
The landing party split up and went in two different directions. Campbell Woods and Stefan Tovarishch headed for the crater rim, while Cara Roberts followed Meechan as they searched the debris scattered inside the crater.  
  
"Sir, what are we looking for?" Roberts asked, as they entered the broken dome of the research station.  
  
"We're entering the Command Centre of the station. Any clues to what they were up to should be here, if we can access the computers."  
  
"What if we can't?"  
  
"Be positive, Cara. I'm sure we'll find something! I'm going to try and access data from the bridge computers and see if there's anything there."  
  
"Aye, Sir," Roberts said, switching to data mode on her tricorder. 


	5. The Thing

Chapter Four : The Thing  
  
"So what are we looking for, Stefan?"  
  
Tovarishch replied. "Energy readings have been spotted around here, in the lab modules. I heard they were up to something shady, if you know what I mean."  
  
"Says who?"  
  
"I read it in the Starfleet Comms mag."  
  
"That's useless. They don't know anything. All they're concerned about is lifestyles of the rich and famous and the latest Elvis sightings."  
  
"Talking of which, did you know he was a Betazoid?"  
  
"What? You'll be telling me next that Asimov was a Borg!"  
  
"It's true! The last issue of Comms said so. Apparently he could sense the emotional states of his audience at live concerts. That's why all his songs were hits. They were emotionally charged."  
  
"Now I know you're making it up. Elvis can't have been Betazoid because he lived on Earth in the mid twentieth century, before we discovered interstellar travel."  
  
"So, just because he sang all his songs on Earth doesn't mean he never went on tour to any other planet in the galaxy!"  
  
"Look there he is there!"  
  
Tovarishch turned to face where Woods was pointing and then walked into an overhanging bulkhead. "That's not funny, Campbell!"  
  
"Yeah, well, you ain't nothin' but a hound dog!"  
  
They made their way to the lab modules. Tovarishch scanned with his tricorder. "That's weird... there seems to be life signs here."  
  
"That's not possible, Stef."  
  
"See for yourself, Cam."  
  
They found an opening formed by the breaching of a bulkhead and entered. The lab was on its side, but somehow the grav plates were still working.  
  
"The place looks like a bomb hit it!"  
  
"Close enough, Cam."  
  
There were several vats containing organic compounds, some pulsing with bio-luminescence, others were showing signs of movement, in various shades of green and silver. Most of the vats had been shattered and their contents were scattered all across the lab floor, moving and exploring their environment.  
  
"What the hell is that?"  
  
"Some kind of experiment, let's keep a safe distance from them."  
  
"You said it, Stef!"  
  
Tovarishch's comm chirped.  
  
"Meechan played the controls of the one console remaining intact, and after a few attempts, accessed the recent logs of the station. A great deal of comm-traffic had been exchanged with Starfleet Intelligence Corps and a private company called Militrek Systems Ltd.  
  
"Roberts, set up a link with the main computer and upload all this information, we'll analyse it later'  
  
"Aye, sir'  
  
He tapped his combadge, "Meechan to Tovarishch."  
  
"Tovarishch here, sir"  
  
"Found anything?"  
  
"Yeah, we've found what seems to be some experimental vats containing organic slime or what looks like mercury, and ... Oh My God! Cam! Look Out!"  
  
Woods turned away and stepped near one of the vats, as Tovarishch answered Meechan's call, and looked at the swirling shades of silver and dark green forming an almost hypnotic spiral pattern. Within seconds the amoeba-like substance coagulated to form a pair of tentacles and dragged him in. Tovarishch yelled a warning, but it was too late, and he watched in horror as Woods disappeared beneath the surface of what looked like a silver oil slick.  
  
"Oh God, Cam! It ate Cam! A big silver oil-slick is eating Cam!  
  
"Tovarishch, get the hell out of there!" Meechan yelled. "Meechan to Avenger - emergency beamout!"  
  
"Acknowledged. Stand by for transport!"The ghostly electrical shimmer appeared in the transporter room, where Ahmad waited for them.  
  
"I've lost a pattern!" The transporter operator yelled, frantically trying every pattern booster he could enter in the panel, as three streams of energy and data began to coalesce into the bodies of the away team. Tovarishch writhed around in panic, Meechan and Roberts restrained him with great difficulty. Ahmad stepped around and placed his hand lightly on Tovarishch's neck and shoulder and pinched hard; Tovarishch collapsed, out cold. He glanced at the despondent transporter operator: "Don't blame yourself, Lieutenant. It's not your fault."  
  
"What the hell happened down there, where's Ensign Woods?" Ahmad demanded, as they took the unconscious Tovarishch to sickbay.  
  
"Roberts and I were in the main command centre, uploading information, while Tovarishch and Woods went to the lab modules. I set up the link and called them to check their progress. They said they found some stuff in vats moving around and then Tovarishch started screaming about Woods being eaten alive. He's not the type to fly off the handle like that, and he certainly wouldn't start panicking without reason!" He shivered slightly "Whatever got Woods can't have been pretty if it affected Tovarisch like that and it's still down there. I ought to go there and bring back what's left of Woods."  
  
"Take some security personnel with you, I'll issue them with phaser rifles."  
  
"Aye, Sir." 


	6. Bug Hunt

Chapter Five | Bug Hunt

"Energise"

Meechan and Cairns beamed down again, accompanied by security officers McMinn, Powers, Sanderson and Weller. They made their way to the lab modules and entered, the five security officers were ready with phasers primed.

The dim light of the luminescent ooze, combined with the skewed and tilted grav-plates of the module gave the lab a weird perspective. There was no sign of Woods or his body. However, as they watched, the silvery, shiny ooze began to extrude solid shapes and projections from its surface - pyramids, spheres, cylinders. One cylinder, human-sized, rose up slowly and ominously in the middle of the slick; and its exterior began to shift, features formed on its surface, and formed a face.

It was Woods.

Meechan stepped forward, indicating to the others to keep back. "I'm Commander Neil Meechan of the USS Avenger."

The blank expression on the entity's face did not change, its mouth moved but there was no sound.

"Where is our crew member?" Meechan demanded, in the hope that this would elicit some response from the amoebic form, which shifted the contours of its face constantly.

The face became more animated, and as the mouth opened, a multitude of voices could be heard, screams and shouts of fear and panic, and many voices spoke in unison.

"Where are we? Release Us! It is dark in here, where is the light? What time is it? When do I transmit the data?"

The rest of the amorphous manifestation had become agitated as well and many different faces were forming on all its surfaces, screaming and shouting.

This was too much for Weller. He raised his phaser rifle and fired. The bolt struck the image of Woods and was absorbed. McMinn and Sanderson followed suit and fired also, ignoring Meechan's command to hold their fire. He dived out of the way along with Cairns, as three phaser blasts struck Woods' effigy in the centre of the chest.

For an instant nothing happened, then creature raised its arms, which flowed, changed into wicked razor sharp tentacles and shot out towards Weller and Sanderson, impaling them neatly through the centres of their torsos, puncturing the environmental suits and body armour they were wearing. A third tentacle formed and caught McMinn at the ankles. The bearded security guard screamed and fired his phaser, but the blast was close enough to vaporise him along with a section of internal bulkhead.

Meechan and Cairns turned away in revulsion and disgust as the bodies of Weller and Sanderson were dragged into the pool of silvery ooze, and the manic voices sang out: "Come to us, join us, feed us, it is your destiny."

Meechan tapped his combadge "Meechan to Avenger, two to transport." A feeling of relief washed over him as the tell-tale tingle of the transporter beam lifted them away from the terrible scene.

No sooner had they materialised than they ran into the nearest head and vomited.

* * *

"It was 'orrible!", Cairns said, as they sat in the observation lounge. "A shapeless mass which took on various shapes and personalities. It fed on them, and said it was their destiny."

"This gives us an idea as to where those people unaccounted for ended up. I don't know what this experiment was meant to be, but whatever it was, it backfired and killed a hell of a lot of people in that lab," Meechan added.

Searochd nodded, "That must have been what I sensed earlier, the pain and anguish of all the people that thing killed must have somehow been recorded and it transmitted those emotions, affecting all psionically sensitive people, like myself, which is why there was so much agony. Most of the crew had exceptional Psi ratings for their respective races."

"Have you analysed the data from their computers?" Ahmad asked.

"We're still working on it, most of the data is heavily encrypted and we're having problems bypassing the protections, sifting out personal data from project data, etc. But so far we've ascertained that the main project, code named Project emk, had something to do with artificial intelligence, muta-genetic engineering, long range psionic transmission and metamorphosis, with an emphasis on the military applications."

Searochd paused briefly, "I believe that this suggests some kind of intelligence probe designed to be non-detectable by conventional means because of its psionic concealment and shape-changing ability. This ability means that it could masquerade as any life-form, convert itself to humanoid form or anything, and could infiltrate any organisation. The perfect espionage instrument. It would also have had the means of refuelling by 'feeding' on organic matter, and also the means to defend itself if necessary."

"And they launched it?"

"No, there was no indication of any launch, which could mean it went earlier than expected, without any fail-safes or control elements installed so it is most likely to be out of control. Not a pleasant thought"

"What's the nearest starbase or inhabitable world?" Ahmad asked, realising the horrific implications of this fact.

"Bajor, and Deep Space Nine, Sir."

"Set a course there, Number One, warp factor eight; I'll have to talk to the Bajorans. Searochd, see what else you can extract from the files. Go over them with a fine tooth comb if you have to. I want to know exactly what this Project EMK can and cannot do, and how we can stop it. Dismissed."

* * *


	7. Deep Space Nine

Chapter Six | Deep Space Nine

Commander Benjamin Sisko of the Federation station Deep Space Nine nodded greetings to Ahmad, "I trust you are well, Captain. How can we help you?"

"Commander Sisko, have any unusual events taken place either on Bajor or on DS9?"

"This place is very unusual in itself, can you elaborate?"

"I am referring to events of a mainly psychic nature, possibly mass hallucinations, sudden psionic attacks, etc."

Sisko paused thoughtfully, then shook his head. "I haven't seen or heard anything like that, but I can find out. Can you tell me what it is?"

"I'd rather not discuss this over subspace. I would like to confer with you face to face. We are en route to DS9 and will arrive within 32 hours."

"Very well, Captain. I look forward to meeting you. Sisko out."

Ahmad leaned back in his chair, running the recent events in his mind. First the distress call, then the rescue, the explosion, denial by Starfleet, the loss of five men and now a possible runaway experiment heading for DS9. This was getting out of hand!

The door to the ready room chimed. "Enter"

"Excuse me, Captain", Meechan said carrying a data-padd with him.

"Here is what we were able to download from the Proxima's computer. There's still quite a bit left, but we've stripped some of the encryptions and coded blocks. Searochd's theory about Project EMK was correct after all. Basically it's a shape-changing, telepathic probe designed to infiltrate an organisation and obtain data, unrecognisable as an artificial object since it's part organic and part metallic - and it's gone haywire. Incidentally Project EMK stands for Project Exo-Morph-1000."

"Charming! Its psionic transmissions must have been the cause of the neural damage of all those people on Proxima. Psychic energy so intense that it burned out the nervous systems of those who were even remotely psionically sensitive. It makes more sense now."

"Except for the generators exploding."

"Searochd once told me that a small degree of telekinesis always takes place on a molecular level in any psionic interaction, and in this case it is possible there was sufficient telekinetic energy to cause severe damage to the station, by altering the structure of the generator shielding on a molecular level."

"And now you think this probe is heading for Bajor."

"Who knows? I have tried to get through to Starfleet Command Intelligence Corps, without any success. They're now saying they've never heard of Proxima Tanis Theta or Project EMK. I've got a bad feeling about this."

* * *

_Station Log: Stardate 49176.2. The USS Avenger has arrived here at DS9, investigating the occurrence of psionic events. I will find out more from my meeting with Captain Akeel Ahmad._

Sisko sat back in his chair, bemusedly watching Ahmad pace the office as he related the events of the past days. It was unusual for Vulcans to pace or express any form of nervousness, tension or grief for crew losses, yet Ahmad did all those things - he often seemed more human than Vulcan; however, he was polite enough not to voice that opinion.

"So you're saying that a top secret surveillance probe, code named Project Exo-Morph-1000, capable of shape-changing and telepathy, has been accidentally let loose before any control elements have been installed and is now running riot in this sector, Captain?" He gazed at Ahmad, almost smiling, not sure whether he should believe this story. "I suppose I should tell Odo to plan for a family reunion!" he added drily.

"I know it sounds crazy, but Bajor is the nearest inhabited planet to the launch site and this is where I expected it to head for."

"Well we haven't encountered anything like that, and nothing unusual has happened here or on Bajor, sorry."

"Probably just as well, what I saw on Proxima was not pretty."

"I would like to be of more assistance, but..."

_*Odo to Sisko*_

"Sisko here"

_*You'd better come down to the Promenade, we have a situation here.*_

"On my way." Sisko looked at Ahmad. "Perhaps you should come with me."

They made their way to the Promenade, edging their way through the crowd that had gathered. In the centre, Dr Bashir knelt at the side a Bajoran who lay very still. Dr Qnayf sat beside him. She looked up at Ahmad and shook her head.

"Same as at Proxima, Captain. His nervous system's been burned out."

Bashir glanced up at him, "This is the third case today."

Ahmad looked down at Qnayf and Bashir, and voiced their fears: "It is happening again."

* * *


	8. The Second Attack

Chapter Seven | The Second Attack

"Captain Ahmad, I would appreciate you backing off and letting us handle this situation." Admiral Richard Cray-Nîmes said, smiling condescendingly, "We know what we're dealing with - you don't, so don't worry about it!"

"On the contrary, I know about this probe - it's called Project Exo-Morph-1000, and it's a genetic engineering, organo-robotic, artificial intelligence experiment that been totally screwed up by your people."

The smile on Cray-Nîmes' face froze, and became slightly more feral. "Do you know what happened to the little boy who knew too much? If you know what's good for you you'll call off this investigation."

Ahmad placed as much ice as he could into his voice: "Admiral Richard Cray-Nîmes, ninety-four people were gone before we could help them, and the remainder are little more than mindless inanimates who would be better off dead. I lost six members of my crew to this 'Project Exo-Morph-1000', and now Federation Station Deep Space Nine is under threat. So don't tell me what I can and cannot do. I owe it to those people and I owe it to my crew to carry on with this investigation - regardless of what Starfleet 'Intelligence' says. Ahmad out." He broke contact abruptly.

"I see you and Admiral Cray-Nîmes are the best of friends." Sisko observed.

"I don't know him from Adam, but dickheads like that brass me off no end."

"I know what you mean." Sisko said. "Anyway, this thing, this Exo-Morph-1000 is hanging around here, and people are in danger. All it takes is for a panic to develop, and the Cardassians will pounce upon a chance to drop in and take over; and I'm not going to stand here and let that happen."

"I entirely agree," Ahmad said, and stood up, straightening his uniform. "You're in command of the station, so I won't presume to give any orders, but perhaps it would be a good idea to get all non-essential personnel off the station. Tell'em we're on a bug hunt or something."

* * *

_Major Kira Nerys lay sprawled across the bed wearing a black negligée. She gazed deeply into his eyes and took his hands. "Captain ... Akeel, get this thing off the station and I can make your stay at DS9 a very pleasant one." _

_"How can I ever refuse an offer like that!" Ahmad replied gently, drawing her close. Slowly their lips met. The kiss lasted a long time... _

Ahmad woke abruptly. He was alone - the dream seemed so vivid, she had felt so real - yet she had never even looked at him in reality. Why did he have such a dream? It was not in his nature to experience erotic dreams, it was not logical; then he realised why - it would soon be time. Pon Farr, the time when his blood would burn, the time when he would be required to take a mate or die, a time when he would be stripped of his veneer of civilisation and his baser instincts would be laid bare. It happened every seven years and was a terrible thing to go through for Vulcans, who prided themselves on their logic and the pinnacle of civilisation that they had achieved at the expense of emotion.

"Not now, please!" He pleaded to whoever out there may have been listening.

Although he was raised on Earth, he was still a Vulcan, subject to their particular physiological needs; the erotic dream was the first sign. He'd have to get this mission over and done with and find some way to get home, or even Vulcan itself, before long - he had at least six weeks if he was lucky; then he reminded himself that Vulcans did not believe in luck - it was illogical.

He looked at his chronometer - 04:00 hrs, something was not right, he never woke up like this - there was a sense of foreboding in the air. He could feel his heartbeat very strongly and sensed his blood racing through his veins.

"Lights!"

The darkness remained.

"Computer, lights!"

This time the room was lit by a blood-red light - the kind used during alert conditions.

He crept out of bed, wrapped a robe around himself, and approached the replicator.

"Water, 5 degrees Celsius", a glass of water appeared in the tray.

He lifted the glass to his lips and screamed as a wave of searing pain struck him in the back. He fell to the floor and doubled up. The pain travelled up and down his back and began to spread along his arms, legs and to his head.

Somehow he managed to hit a com-panel. "Qnayf!" he gasped once then passed out.

* * *


	9. Infirmary

Chapter Eight | Infirmary

It was dark in the station sickbay, and all Ahmad could see was Dr Qnayf looking down at him.

"He's coming around now, Commander."

"Thank you, Doctor." Sisko entered his field of view, concern visible on his face.

Ahmad could barely speak, and his words were slurred. "It is dark, where are the lights?"

"Don't try to speak, Captain." Sisko's voice. You've suffered some neural damage, Dr Qnayf is trying to compensate."

In the distance he could hear the thrumming of the various pieces of machinery in the sickbay, and realised he was still on DS9.

"Why is it so dark?" Ahmad persisted in asking. His voice sounded strange, as if distorted by static.

"One of the primary power circuits went out. Not to worry, Chief O'Brien's working on it," Sisko replied as he turned to leave. As if on cue the lights went on to full brightness, and Ahmad closed his eyes instinctively.

"So how are you feeling." Qnayf asked

"I don't feel any pain, either in my head or in my back. The last thing I remember was being in my room and burning, searing pain in my spine, arms and legs." He tried to move, and nothing happened. "What's happening, I can't move."

"Easy, Captain." Qnayf assured him. "I gave you a mild neural tranq to help rectify the nerve damage. The effects will wear off in about eight hours."

"Eight hours! This thing's on the loose and I don't have eight hours!"

"Dammit, Captain!" Qnayf said, her voice like a steel whiplash, "You're in no condition to do anything. Why don't you delegate this to Neil while you recuperate, that's what he's there for. You need the time."

"Fine, let me talk to Neil."

"He's waiting outside," Qnayf replied and stepped away to confer with Dr Bashir at another bedside.

"Captain...Akeel, how's it going." Meechan asked, approaching his bed.

"Awful. And thanks to our little Klingon torturer I can't move for another eight hours."

"I heard that, Captain!" Qnayf called from the other end of sickbay.

Meechan shook his head in sympathy, "That'll be the neural squelcher. We found you just in time when you passed out. Don't really know what happened there; did the thing attack you? Was it a psionic attack? If we were a few minutes longer would you even be talking to us now?"

"If this is what happened on the Proxima, how come I'm still in one piece, so to speak, compared with the research personnel?"

"They must've been exposed for a greater length of time, more time for the central nervous system to break down; just a thought."

"How goes the evacuation?"

"Badly. We can't tell the people the truth or there'll be a mass panic and we can't fabricate some excuse, because some bright spark sees through our porkies. And besides, if they go they want to take their stuff with them."

"I've heard about one guy on the promenade, a real slimy character, people hate his guts, but they may listen to him. What about talking to him."

"That'll be Quark the Ferengi Bartender."

"You mean Ferengi Bar-Steward"

"You said it, Akeel!" Meechan laughed. "He's the one who's hell bent about taking all his stuff with him!"

Ahmad gazed up at the ceiling, introspectively. "Neil, this EMK, its out of control, and it can take any shape, and is out for the kill. And I'm stuck in here.

"That's where I come in. It's what I get paid for after all."

"There's another problem. I don't know how much longer I can hold out."

"What do you mean?"

"Have you noticed how cute Major Kira Nerys looks?"

"Not particularly - she looks a bit too sharp and spiny for my taste..." Meechan broke off in mid-sentence, and gazed at Ahmad more intently, "Akeel, when you start talking about women, that can only mean one thing - it's that time again, isn't it?"

"Yes, I've got about six weeks."

"That doesn't give us much time before you get absolutely unbearable and have to piss off to planet Vulcan!"

"I know. Work with Odo and Sisko on getting the punters off DS9, whatever it takes. Get O'Brien to rig up some convincing fault which may go at any moment - if you know what I mean. If that doesn't shift them nothing will!"

"Well I'd better get on to Odo and O'Brien, come up with some story for clearing DS9. Have fun, I'll catch you later."

"Cheers, Neil."


	10. Hunger

Chapter Nine | Hunger

One's contours shifted and crystallised to form a humanoid shape as one stood in the corridor of the outer docking ring. Carefully one began to make one's way through the corridors, hallways and cargo bays of the station; aware of the thousands of minds aboard the station and the millions on the planet below. The relevant data was filed away in some corner of one's memory. One felt hungry at the thought of millions of innocent souls one could feed on. Soon the time would come to summon one's brethren.

Those fools never knew what they were doing when they called one, to think that they could make one do their bidding, hah - the arrogance! One showed them who the Master was - not them, neither humans nor the outworlders.

A lot had changed since one was last here. Now the Sons of Adam and the Daughters of Eve had left their puny little Earth and left their footprints on the Heavens, they had progressed far and wide among the stars, and dared to boldly go where no mortal had gone before! But they still tasted the same - the fear, the terror was still as sweet as there were those that tasted bitter and rancid, with green blood; or those that knew not the meaning of fear, and would fight to the death.

One reached out to find the nearest suitable mind, and on finding one alone morphed oneself to a large vulpine predator before going on the hunt.

* * *

The corridor was dimly lit in this part of the station, the access conduits needing little maintenance, but every so often someone had to come down here and check the circuitry and the sensors, and this time it was Ensign Charles Walton who drew the short straw - all the sensors in this sector of the outer ring were out. He finished one part and gathered his tools to move on down, when suddenly the lights went out.

"Hey! It's dark in here! Put those lights back on!"

There was no sound in the pitch black corridor but the sound of his own breathing, and the hammering of his own heart. Darkness was not one of his favourite things, as a young boy Walton was once trapped in a cave for three days on his home world of Delta Ceres. Now those memories came flooding back - the pitch-black darkness, the cold and the wet, the sensation of closeness all around him. He shivered and searched his tool kit for a source of light. "Bloody, useless Cardassian engineering!" He snarled, trying not to let his fear of the dark come to the surface. He peered into the darkness and saw nothing - wait, there was a spot of light and it was approaching.

"Hey! I'm over here!" He called out. The light grew stronger. There were two spots, side by side, in the darkness - they looked like red eyes. Eyes in the dark.

Strange - he could see the spots moving, but nothing else, there was no illumination - this was weird. They were getting closer and closer. As he watched the lights approached and saw what appeared to be a face, two eyes and ... jaws full of teeth? Too late he realised what was happening and screamed.

One leapt forward and caught him by the throat, sinking ones teeth into Walton's neck; and drank deep, savouring the flavour of his fear and terror, gorging oneself on his lifeblood, warm, salty and succulent, a taste one had not experienced in aeons. One howled one's appreciation of an excellent meal and continued to feast.

These creatures really were so fragile, one had only to think at them to cause them excruciating pain; especially those bat-eared green-blooded ones! But one really couldn't beat the Children of Gaia for tenderness of flesh, warmth of blood and the sharp tang of sheer terror when they died, unlike, say, the Children of Kahless or "thlIngans" as they called themselves. What a waste of time hunting them! All muscle and bone, no tenderness, warmth or tang - they wouldn't know fear if it came and ripped their throats out! And those heads! No wonder they fought to the death - too stupid to run, they were!

* * *

O'Brien stared at his diagnostic screen and swore under his breath. Those sensors were still out! Walton should have been back hours ago. This was the third time his coffee had gone cold. Now they were telling him to evacuate the station.

"I just can't do that, Commander! Why don't you let me in on what's really happening?"

"We would all like to know!" Odo interjected, entering Ops, followed closely by an anxious Major Kira.

"Look, gentlemen, I don't like this any more than you. But I'm not prepared to level with you just yet, I can't afford to do that. The Captain says it's dangerous ..."

_{Delaney to Odo}_

"Odo here, go ahead"

_{I've found Walton, or what's left of him, Sir. His ... his throat looks like it's been torn or bitten out, his chest looks like it's been ripped apart. There's blood and entrails everywhere and a trail leading down to Section 6R.}_

Delaney voice was shaking visibly and one could easily imagine something the fear and shock that the big, dark-skinned security officer must have been suffering.

"What?" a horrified Kira exclaimed.

"Who else is down there with you, Delaney?"

_{Suvak and Qo'Sang, Sir}_

"Gather your team and continue following the trail. Report on the hour every hour, Odo out." He looked at Meechan. "Okay, Commander, let's talk about what's really going on."

"Let's go to the Infirmary, then. I want the Captain in on this. This is supposed to be some kind of experimental probe, not a wild animal."

* * *

They stood around the body of the luckless Walton, Lieutenant 'Big Dave' Delaney and Ensigns Suvak and Qo'Sang.

Delaney shook his head. "Poor Walt, what a way to go"

"Gloriously in battle." Qo'Sang said.

"Evidently, he was ingested alive, and from the body posture Walton attained, I would theorise that he was undergoing considerable trauma." The others simply stared at him in disbelief.

"You know Suvak, I don't know why you joined Security. Your talents for stating the obvious are wasted here. Right, let's go. We've got this thing to catch and fast, otherwise we're gonna have more cases of Walton-syndrome happening here."

"Understood, Sir," replied Suvak, Qo'Sang grunted.

* * *

"Bloody Hell!", O'Brien exclaimed, as Ahmad and Meechan narrated the events since the rescue attempt at Proxima One.

"This animal-like mutilation is something I never expected - unless that's a result of it's corrupted programming code. The pattern's all wrong. All the more reason to get everyone off the station."

Odo stood up "Understood, Captain. I will inform Captain Sisko and start evacuation proceedings.

"I still don't like it. And then there's the Cardies to consider. They're just itching for a chance to take DS9 back."

"I don't see it that way, Chief", Ahmad said, "There'll still be a crew on board, we're just shifting the civvies temporarily. Once we get this experimental probe off the station the we can bring the people back. I'm not particularly worried about the Cardassians - they're nothing compared to what we saw on Proxima."

"You still think this is an experimental probe - after hearing what's left of Walton?"

"I haven't seen any evidence to convince me otherwise."

"How much more evidence do you need, Captain!" Kira snapped. "People are being killed - eaten alive. Who could be sick enough to program those kinds of actions into an intelligence gathering probe. What kind of demented people would create such a hideous thing?" She turned and stormed out of the Infirmary.

* * *

It would soon be time to summon one's brethren to this world. The ritual was going to be difficult, unless one could obtain assistance, and believers were in short supply - or were they. True, the people of planet Bajor had their own faith - but like the Children of Gaia, their faith could be perverted to serve one's aims; and besides, strong believers always tasted better.

One made one's way into the unlit core of the station, the fusion generator at the bottom, and prepared to sleep after a hearty meal; one would need to rest one's psyche, especially before casting a summoning to one's brethren left behind on what they called Proxima Tanis Theta.

* * *

"Delaney to Security"

_{Security here, go ahead}_

"Sir. The trail's gone cold. It's at a dead end and there's no sign of anything."

_{Where are you at this moment?}_

"We're at Level 23, Sir"

_{Keep searching, and keep in contact. We will send reinforcements as soon as we can. Out}_

Delaney turned to the others. "Let's spread out, there can't be many places where it can have gone."

* * *

The Rio Grande touched down on landing pad C, and the passengers made their way to the outer docking ring and the corridor beyond.

Meechan waited along with Sisko Kira and Dax as Ambassador James Morton stepped carefully off the Runabout, assisted by his aides.

Sisko stepped up to him.

"Welcome to Deep Space Nine, Ambassador Morton?"

"Thank you, Captain Sisko." He nodded greetings to Kira and Dax, and smiled on seeing Meechan."

"My God, Neil Meechan, how are you. It's been years since we last met. How are you finding life in the twenty fourth century?"

"The same and different in many ways. It's weird, if you know what I mean. And you, Sir, how are things."

"Things are going well, Neil." He replied, shaking Meechan's outstretched hand. "And call me James, we were part of the same crew back then. So how's Akeel?"

"He's been immobile for the past two days, Dr Qnayf gave him a neural tranq to help his central nervous system heal." He gestured towards a turbolift, "Shall we?"

"Yes, let's." They moved off in that direction, making their way to the Infirmary.

"Excuse me, Ambassador, I couldn't help overhearing." Kira asked. "Did you say that you were part of Captain Ahmad's crew? Forgive me sir, but I notice that the Captain is considerably younger than yourself."

Morton laughed loudly, Meechan did likewise. "Did you never hear about the Avenger's disappearance? About eighty years ago, shortly after the Khitomer peace treaty, the Avenger was on patrol in what was loosely termed the Orion Autonomous Zone. An attack by some Orion pirates knocked out warp drive and comms, everyone thought the Avenger had been destroyed." He paused, and indicated Meechan. "Neil here was the First Officer. He was there - I think he should tell you the rest of the story, go on, Neil."

"Well, we had to make the entire journey to the nearest starbase on impulse travelling at 99.95% lightspeed. Took about seventy five years in real time, but for us only seven years had passed because of the time dilation effect of near lightspeed travel. So we arrived back in civilisation, feeling out of place and out of time. The Ambassador here was his first officer back in the old days on the Achilles and the Anubis, but..." his voice trailed off.

Morton continued, "I went into politics about the same time Akeel got the Avenger. I had a sparkling career, got a wife, an ex-wife, a new wife, a ranch in New Zealand on Earth, a few kids, several grand-kids, and all that time Akeel was captaining a starship. Now that's dedication! You could say Akeel's the longest serving Captain in Starfleet!"

"As I recall, there have been a few people from that time." Sisko observed. "I read the report about Captain Morgan Bateson of the USS Bozeman, he had a similar experience. He must have found it difficult to adjust to life in this century."

Morton nodded, "Yes, it can be disorientating, to say the least. Ah, here we are." They entered the Infirmary.

Ahmad was sitting up in bed, Dr Qnayf stood by checking her scanner. Morton called out. "Akeel, how's it going, old man!"

"James, how's life treating you. You've aged since we last met. And who're you calling old man, you're the one who looks like Santa Claus!"

"Yeah, but you're three years older than me, remember."

"Well I can now move about and do things, instead of feeling like I've been tied to my bed." He laughed. "So how's the day job, I thought you'd be on that ranch in New Zealand you were always talking about."

"Well, it wasn't the same after Pauline passed away and I needed to get away from the place. So I figured Starfleet could do with some help. You know what they say..."

"... Life in the old dog yet?"

"Precisely."

* * *


	11. Awake!

Chapter Ten | Awake!

One was awake. One hungered! One needed to feed upon blood, terror and souls. One reached out with One's mind, up into the crowd of mortals in the place they called the Promenade. The mind's eye could see what one was looking for, a gentle soul and not a hardened warrior like the one called Kira! One reached out to her and tasted her mind.

Hira Narel stepped out of the Bajoran temple on the Promenade and gazed out into the starlit sky. The Cardassians came from the stars and enslaved her world for seventy years, but now they were gone, the station belonged to Bajor now, and her people could now walk among the stars, The Promenade was her favourite place on the station, she loved to watch the stars in the sky, it made her feel as if she was walking with the Prophets of Bajor.

As she looked out through the viewport she became aware of darkness nearby. Some of the lights had gone out. She made her way towards her quarters, but somehow, at the back of her mind, there was a feeling that there was someone with her, following her but staying just out of reach. She looked round but saw nothing in the ... darkness? The lights had failed here also. She started to run down the corridor, as adrenalin surged through her veins, every so often she stole a glance behind her and saw nothing but a darkened corridor.

She reached her quarters, entered the room and locked the doors behind her. She stumbled to her bed and lay on her back, breathing heavily.

"Computer: lights."

The lights came on obligingly. She lay there, relieved in the bright light, relaxing, breathing deeply and closed her eyes. The room felt warm, balmy and humid, reminding her of hot summer nights on Bajor. She felt a breath of wind and opened her eyes. The lights were red! She sat up and cried out in surprise and fear and she stared at the open door.

Her heart was pounding, blood raced through her veins, there was a tightness around her and she could feel pressure on her upper arms. Suddenly she felt herself pulled back, her arms brought up over her headboard. Slowly she watched as her legs opened up of their own accord. She felt pressure on her shins, her thighs and her hips. It was almost as if there was someone on top of her, but she could neither see nor hear anyone. There was a stab of pain and a sound of cloth tearing. She felt claws rake across her breasts.

She felt something touch her breasts, her stomach and the insides of her thighs. Then she felt something touch her _there_. It pushed into her, her hips squirmed and she writhed around in agony, it was hot, hard and sharp. It went deep into her, hurting her inside. She screamed and screamed as something unseen thrust in and out of her. Her final scream was cut short by a gurgling sound as she felt her abdomen torn open up to her sternum. The last thing she saw was her own body almost cleft in two, but in a rather small pool of blood.

* * *

"How the hell did this thing get past the security perimeter?" Odo demanded, pacing back and forth in his office. In front of his desk stood Delaney, Qo'Sang and Suvak. "If this gets out there will definitely be a mass panic on the station."

* * *

To be continued


End file.
